Artbeat

Brief sketches of what's happening in the Denver art scene.

Comments (0) By Michael Paglia Thursday, Apr 26 2001

Error & Ingenuity: A Kinetic Sculpture and Robot Exhibit is an ambitious show being presented at the Andenken Gallery (765 Santa Fe Drive, 720-291-4567).

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Andenken, the joint effort of Hyland Mather and Malia Tata, originally opened in the Raven's Nest studio complex but relocated last winter to the GOOG, Patrick Ryan's impressive design complex that includes, in addition to the gallery, a combination office/studio and a fabrication shop.

The show fills the Andenken space and spills over into the GOOG's offices, up to the second-floor conference area, which is accessed via an elegant, if vertigo-inducing, staircase made of unadorned welded steel. The show brings together a number of artists working in kinetic sculpture or with robot imagery. There's clearly one standout, though: Joe Riché.

The up-and-coming artist is represented by a quartet of large sculptures, two of which are shining examples of artistic success. The first is "A Perfect Marriage of Human Ingenuity and Error" (above), in which a foot pedal activates a whirling bar that produces sparks as it spins. "It's done on the same principal as those Jacob's Ladders seen in the Frankenstein movies for which they were created," says Riché. The other great Riché is "Frequency 2001," placed on the floor in the middle of the gallery.

Among the other artists included are Tim Flynn, Craig Coleman and an exciting new sculptor who uses magnets as a key component, Joseph Shaeffer. The show closes this Saturday.